College trivia

Published: Monday, September 25, 2000

AMY MELOTA Word in Edgewise

Getting in: The ideal college applicant, according to admissions officers, high school guidance counselors and how-to-get-into-college books, has good grades, high scores, solid extracurricular activities, a fascinating after-school job, terrific hobbies and a shelf filled with awards.

This candidate also lives on a farm, conducts unusual physics experiments, holds an elected political office in his town, restores old houses, coaches a Little League baseball team and never once mentions SAT scores during an interview.

The secret to getting admitted is matchmaking: Finding a college that has the educational and social environment you're looking for, where you are well suited academically and can contribute something that college is looking for in return.

Consultants: In 1998, about 6 percent of the entering college freshman class used a consultant, according to the Independent Educational Consultants Association.

Consultants charge hourly rates of about $75 to $200, or about $1,200 to $2,500 total for a long-range plan beginning between the student's sophomore and junior years.

Hot major: The most popular major in college is business.

Numbers crunch: Though Princeton's 10.8-percent acceptance rate for the class of 2003 appears to be the lowest in university history, the majority of Ivy League schools also reported more selective admissions results this year than last.

With a target of 1,650 students for its freshman class, Harvard admitted 2,055 applicants from a pool of 18,160, resulting in an acceptance rate of 11.3 percent. Yale University admitted 15.9 percent of its applicants, accepting 2,121 out of 13,266, the largest applicant pool in its history.

Dean Lee Stetson, in charge of admissions at The University of Pennsylvania, said he agreed that Ivy League schools are becoming more popular in part because of better financial aid offers.

The University of Virginia accepted 31.6 percent of its 17,060 applicants for a total of 5,385 admitted students. Dartmouth College admitted 20.6 percent of its 10,261 applicants. Brown University admitted 16.7 percent of applicants but received 811 fewer applications this year than last.